The Christmas Series - Part 3 - Christmas Media in the UK

What would Christmas be without the media? TV, radio, the internet, magazines, books, shops, online stores, newspapers, theatres, cinemas... the list is endless. Every year the UK media blows up with Christmas cheer... and this year is no different! So I thought I'd give a little preview of what we can expect to see this Christmas.


This year, UK TV viewers can expect to watch a whole array of Christmas specials. Starting with 'The Snowman' and 'A Christmas Carol'; Christmas Eve classics, we can also expect to see Jacqueline Wilson's 'Dustbin Baby' bought to life and a special Eastenders in which Dot's son Nick returns to (wreck?) Christmas. The Doctor Who Christmas special 'The Next Doctor' is something not to be missed. A dramatised version of the spooky 'Crooked House' will air, as well as another episode of the ever-loved programme Wallace and Gromit; A Matter of Loaf and Death. Michael Palin retraces his steps to Mumbai and Dubai, which he last visited twenty years ago, as well as the Keeping up Appearances and the Blackadder Christmas specials airing! Top of the Pops returns too, along with the final of Strictly Come Dancing and a whole list of films and repeats!

Bookstores and clothes stores go mad at Christmas, with all the shops trying to lure their customers with pre-Christmas 'sales', which are likely to be slashed in half on Boxing Day. Online stores are also extremely popular this Christmas; sales of up to one thousand per minute were recorded on Play.com!

Theatre productions such as the Dickensian 'A Christmas Carol' and pantomimes return, and hundreds of streets will be lit up, as well as loads of markets being set up. London is probably one of the best places to be around Christmas - so much festive spirit!!

I'll return with another Christmassy post soon! I hope you enjoyed reading; please leave comments!

The Christmas Series - Part 2 - A little pre-Christmas poem

You may have noticed that I've gone absolutely overboard with the decorations on the blog - and that's because I love Christmas! Everything about it! Dressing the tree, opening the presents, walking down lit up streets - everything! I'm mad about Christmas! I hope you like the blog decorations - please leave comments! And, since there's only three weeks left until Christmas day, I thought I'd kick off with a little pre-Christmas poem! Enjoy!

The stockings are up,
We've dressed the tree,
In three weeks exactly
It's Christmas to be.

We've baked the mince pies,
The pudding's in the pot,
Now I come to mention it -
I see, we've made a lot!

The fireplace mantle is
Covered with cards,
And outside the window
It's snowing quite hard!

We've done lots of shopping,
We've seen all the sales,
Our house is so packed,
So much to unveil!

Now we're getting ready,
Watching TV and more,
Singing all the carols,
Like no Christmas before!

Now I'm in Hyde Park,
In the Winter Wonderland,
The lovely Christmas market,
It's going just as planned.

We've been to the theatre,
The pantomimes we've seen!
A Christmas Carol - charming!
What a great time it's been!

But now we will all wait here,
Till the joyful Christmas morn',
To open all our presents,
We're waiting for the dawn...

The Christmas Series - Part 1 - The Snowman

With an early kick-off to the Christmas season, I've decided to start with a warm (or should I say snowy) series of Christmas posts, covering all aspects of a very wonderful Christmas. For starters, I've decided to include the lyrics of one of the best if not my favourite Christmas songs - We're Walking in the Air. It is part of a fascinating wordless half-hour Christmas television programme called 'The Snowman' by Raymond Briggs, repeated every Christmas eve since 1982 on Britain's Channel 4. And yes, it's true, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without 'The Snowman'; I've watched it every Christmas eve for as long as I can remember!

'The Snowman' tells the story of a little boy who wakes up on Christmas eve to find that it's snowing. He goes outside and makes a snowman. When he goes to bed he notices that the snowman he created has become alive, magically! He rushes outside to embark on a ship of many adventures with this mythical creature. They do everything from trying on some of the little boy's dad's clothes, turning the Christmas tree lights on and off and bathing in a freezer to racing through the woods on a motorbike! Eventually they both take off, across the frozen world to join Father Christmas, the reindeer and all the other snowmen on a big snowman dance. The little boy receives a scarf from Father Christmas and in the end they fly back home. To the great disappointment of the little boy he wakes up on Christmas day to find the Snowman melted - but he still has the scarf in his hand...

The magical, enchanting tale comprises a wonderful song - We're Walking in the Air, sung by Peter Auty and written by Howard Blake. This song is so great I've decided to play it on the piano this year, and as part of my English homework, here are the lyrics, with a Swedish translation:

Here is the link for 'The Snowman' on YouTube - a timeless classic. And here is a separate link for just the Walking in the Air video, with English and Swedish subtitles. Please, look out for more posts in The Christmas Series!

(Popular) British Cuisine

There are lots of people who just think that Britain has no cuisine whatsoever. And the majority of the few people who do believe can only imagine tea and scones with jam and cream. Cream tea is British cuisine, but it's not the staple everyday diet of most Brits. When I say British cuisine, I don't mean Masterchef-style fancy-hardly-anything-on-the-plate-food, but I mean regular things that people eat and by from Tesco's (a supermarket chain) - stuff that is popular in the UK. It's not always traditional, it's not always completely British - it's often a mix of many cuisines, and it's not always especially healthy either. But it's food that people in the UK like - and visitors in the UK should try.

And before you ask - fish and chips is not the only British supper. Scrambled/poached/fried eggs, bacon, hash browns, sausages, toast, baked beans and mushrooms are all part of an English breakfast - normally too rich and too much for a breakfast! Let's continue with a snack - the scotch egg. Not actually Scottish, the scotch egg is an egg coated with a layer of sausagemeat. Delicious hot or cold, there are variations, such as savoury eggs (mashed egg with mayonnaise in mini sausagemeat coated balls) - which I like best! Savoury eggs are really good for snacks and picnics. Then there's the roast dinner, which many people in the UK like to tuck into on a Sunday or at Christmas, with beef, chicken or turkey - which consists of vegetables, roast potatoes and roast meat... yum. Curry is a very popular dish in Britain originating from India, and now there's at least one South Asian take-away in most towns. Contrary to popular belief, Chicken Tikka Masala is not an South Asian dish. Yes, it's based on South Asian food, but according to the BBC, it was invented in a Glasgow curry house, when one day a man thought his tandoori chicken was too dry, and asked for some gravy. The chef then added a tin of tomato soup and a pinch of spices, and Britain's true national dish was born (according to the former former secretary Robin Cook).

Some other delicious British dishes/snacks consist of: Scottish Shortbread, fudge, Weetabix (wheat cereal biscuits eaten with milk for breakfast which go with just about anything - from honey to raspberries to chocolate ice cream!), Hoola Hoops (some sort of crisps), Mini Cheedar Cheese Biscuits (miles from the American 'Goldfish' biscuits), Chocolate-coated oaty biscuits (Hob-Nobs), the delectable Cadbury's British chocolate (read Roald Dahl's 'Boy - Tales of Childhood' - tremendously delicious - a wonderful unique taste), sausage rolls (rolls of pastry bulging with tasty sausagemeat), pork pies and last but not least, at Christmas time, mince pies - scrumptious little pies filled with mincemeat; not actually meat, but a mixture of different jams, berries and fruits.



Finally, although bit off-topic, I would like to wish all those who celebrate the festival of Durga Puja all the best! PS: Coincidentally, the day after I finished this post, I found out that the British Food Fortnight is currently ongoing - celebrating British food. Have a look for more ideas here and here too!

Christmas stamps - don't ask me why!

Despite the fact that there's still 110 days remaining until the joyful dawn of Christmas day, I've got all tangled up in the world of stamps - especially the Christmas and festival ones that lots of countries are starting to bring out now! Stamps are really cool "masterpieces" of art - displaying lots on a small piece of gummed paper which are placed on letters to be posted. Lots of stamps can be really boring like the British definitive "Machin" stamps - the queen's head in about a million different colours - probably ranging from "phosphate blue" to "light gravel grey". I mean; do you really want to send something as boring as that on a letter? But I must admit that they do look cool when there are lots of them in album - all multicoloured. And it's a very recognisable British icon. Luckily, there are loads of wonderful stamps everywhere though - especially ones that are given out at Christmas.

When December arrives a carpet of a wintry festive spirit descends upon many countries, and in the season of goodwill and faith many letters and cards are sent to and fro, many people wishing their family and friends a great Christmas and New Year. I've made a small compilation of some great festival stamps which will be posted around the world this very Yule and some that were sent in previous years:



Anyway, I hope all the countries continue to bring out lovely festive stamps to adorn our seasonal mail!